Weather journal: racing winter
We had our first ripe tomato on September 1st. Our first hard frost came September 7th. We covered the tomatoes, but the squash are done for the year.
The reduction in foliage allowed a census: 58 squash.
Autumn brings morning fog.
Once we gather the squash from the field, I will be able to reach the last of the potatoes.
We are thinking of making potato sausage this year.
We began harvesting old ducks this week, despite their being in the middle of a molt. We have been skinning and boning them for sausage fodder. We processed 4 ducks before the rain started. We have 5 more old ducks to go. A predator got the one chicken that was on the sausage list. Then we have 7 new ducks that need to go before winter sets in. Our Duck Mansion is big, but does not have unlimited capacity.
One of our new duck hens started laying yesterday.
We had two days with highs in the 40s: time for a fire!
Before I could light that fire I had to clean out the chimney. This was a bluebird, but I doubt it was happy.
Michael and I pressed 4.5 gallons of cider in one day. Last year we pressed 8.5 gallons. The apples ripened three weeks earlier this year. My trees keep telling me “winter is coming.”
We took advantage of our one cold rainy day to walk the mushroom woods. No edibles, but always a lovely hike.
We encountered neither cows nor people on our walk.
The rhubarb survived the frost, but it is time to put some away for Christmas pies before it succumbs to cold.
The advantage of cooler weather is that it allows me to cook inside again, but with fresh tomatoes and herbs at my disposal. This was the first time I ever grated a fresh tomato. Simmered down with garlic and chile flakes, it made a wonderful base in which to finish cooking the pasta. Roasted eggplant and peppers were added afterwards, adding a nice texture to the dish.
Construction has taken a back seat for a while as we batten down the hatches for that first real snow. We need more wood in our woodpile. We need fewer birds in our flocks. We need to plant garlic. We need to walk in the woods and down the lane and breathe in the ripeness of autumn.
